A review by ericfheiman
The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr

2.0

For me, the appeal of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series is that it positions gumshoe existential angst against the backdrop of Nazi Germany. The murky moral ambiguities that often clouded classic Raymond Chandler or James Ellroy works are amplified by the horrific hindsight we have of this dark chapter in our history. As a bonus, these detective yarns also interweave true events from the time period, most of which only erudite Third Reich scholars would be aware. It’s the most fun you’ll ever have in history class.

So it’s disappointing that The Other Side of Silence focuses more on the postwar spying and espionage games between the Soviet Union and the West. While Kerr is always compulsively readable and there are some satisfying turns of phrase Sam Spade only wishes he could've spoken, this book ends up being barely John LeCarré-lite. Leave the spy novels to the pros, Philip.